Certain applications, including a quadrupole mass spectrometer, can require a specialized power supply.
A power supply for this purpose has specialized requirements. It should be a high frequency power supply that has a variable peak RF amplitude, but is frequency and voltage stable once set. It should also be fully floating. These power supplies should also be capable of driving a primarily capacitive load.
If the device will be operating unattended or in space, the power supply should also be lightweight and efficient.
The present disclosure teaches a stable, high amplitude, high frequency radio frequency and direct current power supply system. According to one aspect, the system uses a clocked operation to turn on power from a power supply.
A high dynamic range power supply is described that has an an oscillator assembly operating from a first power supply and produce first and second out-of-phase, gradually increasing, signals, first and second transistors, coupled to receive said first and second signals respectively, and turned on by the signals to produce an oscillating output. The first transistor produces a first part of the oscillating output and the second transistor produces a second part of the oscillating output. A feedback loop has a detector sensing a level of the oscillating output and producing a signal indicative thereof. A second element compares that signal to a reference and produces an error output indicative of the difference, said error output causing a change in said first and second drive signals. The first transistor is referenced to a second power supply, having a different level than the first power supply.